See, Fire and Bullets Can Mix!
by clt
Summary: Can a male cop and female firefighter actually make a relationship work? Find out what Pete Malloy does when he come across a woman like no other he has met before.
1. Chapter 1

Folks – this is my second story ever and it is not BETA'd. I am posting a few chapters initially and will wait to see if anyone would be willing to BETA the story for me. It is complete with 14 chapter's total. If you would like to BETA the story for me, send me a message and we'll talk.

Thanks!

**See, Fire and Bullets Can Mix!**

DISCLAIMER: Anything in this story that is even remotely familiar as having been mentioned in either Emergency! Or Adam-12 is not mine. It is the property of the fine folks in Hollywood, Universal Studios, and the wonderful writers and other creators of both shows. This is their playground that they have graciously allowed myself and others like me to play in.

_**1972**_

It was a sunny Wednesday in Los Angeles and rather warm for mid-April. Christy MacDonald was on her way to the headquarters of the Los Angeles County Fire Dept. to deliver some papers that she had been waiting for far too long for. See, she was a firefighter/paramedic for the county; one of only 3 female firefighters and the only female paramedic. Of course, that had to do with the fact that she was also a registered nurse to boot. After having been injured 6 weeks prior while assisting on a warehouse call, she had finally been given the clearance to come back to work. Not just to the hospital on light duty but full clearance for the department. She was in a very happy mood that day and had no problem with letting everyone around her know it.

Unfortunately that good mood would vanish when she rounded the curve and saw the broken guard rail and skid marks. Fortunately, she saw that she wasn't the only one to notice; a black and white patrol car belonging to the LAPD also appeared. Once both of them had pulled over, she introduced herself and presented her credentials.

"Gentlemen, I'm Christy MacDonald, LA County Fire Department, off duty at the moment. Looks like we had the same idea here. I've got some equipment in the trunk and if you can spot me I can go down to see what we have." Christy didn't want to waste any time as it was unknown what would be waiting down below. What happened next would surprise her.

Before the first two officers could say anything, another black and white unit pulls up. However, she recognized this one as belonging to her older brother, Sgt. William "Mac" MacDonald. One look on his face and she knew it was trouble.

"Christy, we're looking for a missing black and white. Anyone check to see what we have here?" This explained a whole lot to her.

"No, we rolled up at the same time. Let me take a look." She went to peer over the side and her heart went into her throat. "Bill, I can see the top of the vehicle, numbers '012' are visible. Is it one of yours?"

One look on his face confirmed her fears…it was. However, she also saw off in the distance what would be a welcome sight…a big red fire truck. So, naturally she flagged it down for help. Luckily it was engine 51 and in the front was her captain, Hank Stanley.

"Cap, we have a police unit over the side, at least one vic, maybe more. The ground surrounding the vehicle doesn't look too stable so it's gonna take someone lightweight to go down. And before you say anything, in the front seat of my car are my release papers from the doctor. I'm back for duty with the next shift."

However, before anything else can be said, she hears her brother yell "Christy, we're seeing smoke coming up. Not sure how long he can wait."

That was all it took for them to get moving. Squad 51 had been right behind the engine and had just arrived, so John Gage and Roy DeSoto made quick work of getting the equipment out and ready for use. Everyone acknowledged that Christy would be best suited for this as she was the lightest among them. The only thing she had to worry about was if there was more than one person in the unit. However, she couldn't worry about that right then and there. Her main concern was getting down and checking on whoever was there. She knew it was one of her brother's men, just not sure who.

Once harnessed, she began her slow descent to the car. The sight that met her was one she never liked to see: broken glass, smoke, sparks and one man slumped to the side in his seat. She managed to reach in to check for a pulse and found a nice, strong one thumping under her fingers. She then went to check for further damage. His face looked like it had taken a hit with a lot of broken glass and with the eyes shut she didn't know how badly damaged they could be. As she was checking on him, he started to come around. A quick glance at his name tag and she was in business.

"Hold on there, Officer Malloy. You've been in a bad accident. I don't want you moving any more than I tell you to right now. Do you understand?" As she spoke to him, she was trying to assess any injuries he might have, apart from a near certain eye injury. His response was not unexpected.

"You're either an angel or a nurse that likes danger if you're down here with me. The only thing I know for certain right now is that it seems like everything hurts, but especially my eyes. It feels like there's sand in them. I'd like to try and clear them out if you don't mind." He was trying to shift around a bit to get his bearings straight, but she wasn't having any of it.

"Keep still and don't you dare open your eyes! With as much broken glass as there is here the chances of some being in your eyes are too high. Keep them closed. In fact, let me have your neck-tie. I am going to put this around your eyes just to keep them closed. I know someone that actually did lose their sight just because they didn't listen and keep their eyes closed." She proceeded to take the tie and wrap it around his eyes. While doing this, she continued to speak. "As for what I am, believe it or not I am actually a firefighter/paramedic. Yeah, you heard right, a lady hose-jockey. But, this jockey knows a thing or two about accidents and fires and it looks like we are going to have to get going sooner than I thought." Just as she completed that statement, the engine sparked and caught fire. She knew they had run out of time for carefulness.

"Malloy, what's your first name?"

"Pete. Yours?"

"Christy MacDonald or CJ for short. OK, Pete. We need to move now. I know you hurt a lot, but we don't have a choice as it seems that the engine has decided to catch fire. Now, you don't know me, but I need you to trust me. I know you can't see at all, but I will guide you out of the car and up the hill as far as possible, then my partners will help get you up the rest of the way. Think you can do that for me?" She knew they needed to move, but she remembered her brother Bill telling her about Peter J. Malloy and she knew he had more trust issues than there were books in the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.

Pete Malloy knew he had to trust her. He didn't like the fact he couldn't see, but for some reason, he trusted her. In a way she was sort of familiar, just not sure how. Decision made, he said "I don't know why, but I trust you to lead me to safety. Just, stay with me for the duration, OK?" It took a lot for him to say this and she could see that he was genuinely scared. Truthfully, so was she.

"Alright. Let me take the lead with this. But move as fast as you can when I tell you to. This thing can blow any time and I don't want to be a crispy critter, do you?" She was attempting to inject a bit of levity into the situation and found it was working as she managed to get not only a smile from Malloy, but something resembling a laugh as well.

"You've got yourself a deal. Let's get this show on the road."

With that, Christy double checked the makeshift blindfold to ensure it was secured enough, then pried open the door to help Malloy out. Surprisingly, the door came open with very little force. Once free, she took his hand and squeezed it tight. Then she said "Here we go."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

As they made their way towards the hill her partners, DeSoto and Gage, were about to descend to assist. That is until they spotted the car and knew that time had run out. Christy and Pete had just made it to where the land slopes up when the car blew completely apart. Both of them were knocked forward onto their faces, but were essentially unharmed.

"Pete, you alright?"

"Yeah, CJ, I'm OK. Let's just get out of here. If I wanted a suntan, I would have gone to the beach!" That got a laugh out of several folks that were within earshot. However, before they could start up the hill, he stopped and looked in her direction and said "CJ, it's kinda hard to breathe right now. Kinda feels like a knife in my chest."

That sent up the warning flags. "GET THE STOKES, MIGHT HAVE COMPROMISED LUNGS HERE!" She bellowed as loud as she could to her partners up above. Moments later, Pete was being transferred into the stokes and was being hauled up the hill; however he still managed to hold onto Christy's hand. It was almost like her hand was caught in a vice grip.

Once topside, Gage and DeSoto set about treating his injuries. It was getting increasingly difficult to breathe, let alone talk, so he and Christy came up with a compromise; he would squeeze her hand once for yes and twice for no. When Rampart hospital realized that Christy was there, they were none too happy, but when they verified that she did get clearance, she was allowed to ride in the ambulance.

Before pulling out, she told him to wait; she had to get something from her car. "I'll only be a minute, Pete. I promise I'll be right back."

She did go to the car so that someone could take it to the hospital for her, but she also wanted the papers to show the doctors that she had been cleared. She also needed to let her brother know that Pete would be in good hands.

"Bill, don't worry. I know he's one of yours. I remember you talking about him. I'll take good care of him. You have my word."

"I know you will. Just tell him to take it easy and I'll be there soon. See you there." Bill MacDonald gave his sister a smile, but the smile didn't reach his eyes; he was still too worried about his friend and subordinate. He also knew that when his partner, Jim Reed, found out that there just might be hell to pay.

Christy was back in the ambulance, and by the look that DeSoto had on his face, she knew it wasn't a moment too soon. "Hey Malloy calm down, I told you I would be right back. Besides, your Sgt. MacDonald told me to tell you that he would see you at the hospital." At the mention of the sergeant, DeSoto looked up, but Christy shook her head, indicating not to mention anything. DeSoto knew she would talk later; right now they had a patient to tend to. However, he wasn't the only one to give a look. Malloy realized why she seemed familiar…her last name. So he point blank asked her.

"Christy, do you have a brother that's a cop?"

Grinning from ear to ear, Christy responded "Thought you might catch that. Yes, I do and he is your sergeant. He's the oldest and I'm the baby. Now, enough talking; it's putting too much of a strain on the lungs. Just squeeze my hand to answer questions, OK?"

She was rewarded with one very firm squeeze, which got a smile from her, along with DeSoto.

It didn't take long to get to Rampart hospital, which was a good thing, because Pete started having muscle spasms in his left arm and hand, making it near impossible for Christy to let go of his hand. Dr. Brackett saw this and knew she would have to go in with them. "Christy, just try to stay out of the way until we can separate you. Try to keep him calm while you can, alright?"

She would have no problem obeying that order. "Sure Doc. Besides, I don't think he's going to let me go any time soon. Also, since he's having trouble talking, he can answer simple yes/no questions by squeezing my hand: once for yes and twice for no. It could help." Looking at Brackett, she knew she had convinced him.

While Brackett and the rest of the team went to work on Malloy, Christy went to work trying to keep him calm. "Pete, listen to my voice. I'm not going to let anything happen to you. Remember I told you about trust?" She waited until he squeezed her hand in acknowledgement. Once received, she continued. "Well, everyone here has worked on me at one time or another and I trust them with my life. But, we need you to stay calm. I know it's hard with not being able to see anything, but that's why I'm still here. Focus on me and try to relax." She kept her voice fairly soft, yet firm, so that he knew he would be alright. It seemed to be working; the heart monitor that he had been connected to was starting to indicate that he was calming down a bit.

However, he still had a problem with the lungs. X-rays and surgery would be on order very soon. When she realized this, she told him so. "Pete, listen to me. In a few minutes, I am going to have to leave you, but only for a short bit. Brackett has ordered x-rays for you and I can't be in here. Now, in all likelihood, you are going to have to go for surgery. The films will bear that out. I know he will let me stay with you for as long as possible, but you will have to let me go at some point. I promise you one thing, though. I will stay here as long as possible. I'll even see if I can act as an intermediary between the doctors and your sergeant. Do you want me to do that?" She knew this was a lot for him to take in, but he gave one very firm squeeze, indicating his desire to act for him. He still didn't quite know why he trusted her, he just knew he did.

Christy had to leave for a few minutes while the films were being taken, so she took the opportunity to speak to Mac. "Bill, this is Dr. Brackett, head of the ER and one of the best around. Doc, this is Sgt. Bill MacDonald, Malloy's watch commander as well as my brother"

"Sgt., so far it looks pretty good for Malloy, though the two biggest concerns are his lungs and his eyes. Christy, good call with using the neck tie to keep them closed. It should have minimized any further damage. Right now, he's alive and for the moment, that's all we can ask for. Christy, since you are officially not on duty for the Dept. I am going to ask you to act as an intermediary between us and the police. With your medical background, you can de-code what is being said so that Malloy's family will understand." With seeing the look on the Sgt.'s face, he elaborated. "Sgt. I know that the police are a lot like the fire department; they view each other like brothers, therefore you and the other officers are Malloy's 'brothers' for lack of a better word. Now, the films should be done soon, and then we will be taking him up to surgery."

Not more than 10 minutes later, the x-rays were done and being processed, with Brackett requesting his usual STAT speed, meaning to be done as fast as possible. Then he and Christy went back in to see Pete. He was visibly upset and agitated, so Christy did her best to calm him down. "Pete its Christy and Dr. Brackett, you're going to be fine. We need you to calm down before you go for surgery. Can you do that for me? Listen to my voice and try to calm down for me. I told you that I would be with you as long as I could. Now, they won't let me into the OR to be with you, and you'll be knocked out anyway. Please, try to relax and let the doctors here take care of you. I told you before, they have all taken care of me at one point or another and I trust them with my life." As she spoke, he calmed down enough for the nurses to start prepping him for the OR.

Once done, she knew she had to go. "Pete, listen to me. I have to go since you are about to make the trip up. They all have been instructed to use the hand squeeze to ask you questions right now. Do you understand?" One hard squeeze was her answer. She then did something that surprised even herself; she placed a kiss on his forehead. She wasn't too sure why she did that, but knew it felt right. Then, he was wheeled out to the OR and she went to the waiting room to sit with her brother and whoever else was there. She was introduced to Jim Reed, Malloy's partner and surrogate brother. Then the wait began.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The surgery to take care of his lungs and rib cage didn't take as long as the doctors thought it would; it was the eyes that gave them cause for concern. When Brackett had set up the surgery, he requested not only an orthopedist and lung specialist, but also an ophthalmologist. He was hoping to take care of everything at one time; he wasn't disappointed. Several hours later Brackett and the ophthalmologist, Dr. Weinermann, came out and motioned for Christy to join them. Of course, the group of officers with Christy wanted to come as well, but she told them in no uncertain terms to stay put.

After conferring with the doctors for a few minutes, she came back to the group of officers, among them her brother, and gave them the latest. "Gentlemen, here is the latest. You all know that the worst of his injuries were his eyes and his lungs and ribs. Now, for the lungs he was lucky; the rib that was broken did not puncture it, but it did place a lot of pressure on it, thus causing the difficulty in breathing. The rib has been reset and he is looking good there." She stopped and took a good look at the officers to make sure she still had their attention since the next bit would be a bit more difficult to swallow.

"Now, for the eyes; it's a waiting game. Yes, there was glass in the eyes. Right now, there is really no good way to tell just how extensive the damage is. Even if he were allowed to have his eyes exposed to the light he wouldn't be able to see due to swelling caused by the trauma. However, we really won't know more until he wakes up and the doctor is able to remove the bandages. That won't happen for at least 2 weeks. Sgt. I hate to say this, but you are looking at about 4 weeks off duty right now to start. That might change and increase but it remains to be seen. Now, he's in recovery and will be in a private room within the hour. The doctor has authorized 3 people to see him initially; me, Sgt. MacDonald and his partner, Jim Reed. The rest of you can try to stop in tomorrow. Don't worry, the staff won't allow us to stay for too long either. Just keep him in your thoughts and prayers"

The rest of the officers were not too happy about this, but it only took one look from MacDonald to get them to move out of the hospital. Meanwhile he, Reed and Christy waited for word on when he was moved into the private room.

Jim Reed was not a dumb man; nor was he blind. He could see the clear resemblance between his Sgt. and Christy. So, he said something about it.

"Mac, is it just me or are the two of you related? And I'm sorry if I'm overstepping any boundaries, but the resemblance is just too much to ignore." Bill and Christy looked at each other and nodded.

"Reed, yes she and I are related. Christy is my youngest sister. Very few people know this, but I think that is about to change, don't you agree Christy?" Mac was giving me a very pointed look that was impossible to ignore. I agreed with him.

"Yeah, looks like the cat is out of the bag so to speak. Even your partner knows at this point. Thought it might help with him trusting me if I told him my full name."

Just as she was about to say something else, a nurse came to escort them to Malloy's room. The sight that greeted them was not one that any of them were truly ready for; wires, monitors and tubes running in all directions and a completely still Pete Malloy. Granted, he wasn't the most talkative of folks, but this was enough to unnerve even Mac. The three of them walked closer to his bed and decided to settle in to wait until he awoke. His eyes were still bandaged, but he didn't have the trach tube in. Instead there was an oxygen mask in place. Christy knew this was a very good sign indicating that his lungs were indeed in better shape than originally thought. She took a look at the bandages on his eyes and noted that there seemed to be no seepage; also a good sign that things were going better than expected. She was on Pete's left side, Reed on his right and Mac at the foot of the bed. With no conscious thought, she placed her hand inside of his. The reaction was immediate; he squeezed.

What the three of them didn't realize was that he was awake and was just trying to figure out by other means who it was that had walked into the room. So, he listened to the sounds around him. He could tell that three people had walked in, with one of them being slightly heavy-footed with their steps and one being a bit lighter. However, that's not what led him to realize who had walked in. It was his sense of smell. He knew instantly that his partner, Jim Reed, was one of the ones that had come in. He knew because there was a smell that was uniquely his: baby powder, engine oil and Old Spice aftershave. Next was his sergeant, Bill "Mac" MacDonald. He knew this due to the fact that Mac smelled like gunpowder, ink, leather and surprisingly fish. However, the final person gave him a pleasant surprise. He knew it was a female since pretty much all females had a very distinctive smell to them. But, there was more to it. It seemed that along with that distinctive smell, there was also leather, fish and what appeared to be musk. Initially, it puzzled him since he was certain that he didn't know any female with that combination. Then he realized he did…his rescuer Christy. With that final revelation, he immediately calmed down and waited for them to make their presence known. That's when he felt a hand in his and he knew without even thinking about that it belonged to Christy. He then gave a squeeze to let her know he was coming around.

"Hey, there Pete, you about to rejoin the land of the awake? Got a few visitors here for you if you're up to it." She got one nice gentle squeeze in return which both men saw. "Good, I'll let them tell you they're here." And with that, she kept holding his hand, but said nothing further.

"Well, if you wanted time off Malloy, you sure picked a hell of a way to get it! The docs say you could be out for up to 4 weeks. 4 weeks I'm without my best TO and 4 weeks I'll have to listen to Reed complaining about either being in an "L" car or riding with someone else." Mac was trying to sound put out about the whole thing, but experience told all in the room that he was very concerned for his friend and subordinate. However, what happened next would put their minds to rest.

In a very raspy voice that you had to really pay attention to, Pete said "Don't worry. It won't be for too long. Then I'll be back to keep him in line." That simple statement did more for the two men in the room than almost anything else could have. Each knew right then and there that Peter J. Malloy would be alright.

"Darn right you'll be back soon. 'Sides, how in the heck am I gonna keep from killing Wells? I just know I'll be partnered with him and I just might make good on my threats." Even though Reed was joking around at this point, it was clear that he was both very worried and very relieved.

Sensing that he was getting tired, Christy finally spoke up. "Look, Pete. We're gonna clear out of here for now. I'll hang around for a bit, but you do need to rest and your friends need to get back to the station. Bill, I know you need to talk to him regarding what happened, but as you can see he is struggling to stay awake. Give it a few hours and try back later. Like I said, I'll be around and if it looks like he's up to it, I'll give you a call and you or one of the detectives can come in. Does this sound acceptable to everyone?" Even though Pete couldn't see her face, he knew that her voice brokered no foolishness. She wouldn't take no for an answer. Thankfully, the others knew as well.

"Sounds good to me, Christy. You've already got my number and expect you to let us know how he is. Come on, Reed. She's right; he needs his rest.

With that, the three of them walked out of the room, all feeling a lot better than just a little while ago.


End file.
